Offices Are Becoming Antiques

Offices make less and less sense for smaller, agile businesses like the kind many of you work in. Every time I hear about a small company opening up an office with plans to have the employees spend most of their time there, I’m a bit dumbfounded.

What resources can an office bring to software developers, designers, sysadmins, phone support managers, or sales people that they could only get in an office, rather than at home, in their local coffee shop, or even on the road?

Many of you (or perhaps your boss) might respond by saying: We’re different. We have different needs. Our business needs an office. Really? Is there really only one way?

If we were starting this whole office thing today, it’s inconceivable we’d pay the rent/time/commuting cost to get what we get. […] When you need to have a meeting, have a meeting. When you need to collaborate, collaborate. The rest of the time, do the work, wherever you like.

When you want to go somewhere and meet and work together, do it. But like Seth says, it doesn’t have to be an office.